_ 319 _ Item: If it so happens that between Aden and here you see a Turkish fleet, you will try to ensure that I am informed beforehand. You will do this while on your way there, if you think I shall need this. Item: When you are making inquiries, you must be very cautious that no one learns them, because the Portuguese are such that if one little bird says that the Turks are on their way to India it will be more believed than St. John the Baptist. So, you must be careful that they do not know what news you are given, and you must always give them good news, whether true or not. Take great care not to believe the news you are given without having them confirmed by two other different sources. Item: If by any chance you encounter D. João de Ataide between here and Aden, you will still do what you have been told above, and you will tell him that he is to come here, where I am. If you meet him off the Abyssinian coast, you will tell him from me that he is to make for India, because it is not sensible for so many of our ships to be in waters where there is so much danger without there being any advantage. He is to go via Kuria Muria if he can arrive there before 20 April, because until then I shall be here. If he wants to stay with you, he can.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTg0NzAy